Large hillside garden
Filling a large sloping garden with colour and fun.
This house sits on a large, sloping plot, in a village on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in Bedfordshire, with stunning views from the highest points in the garden. Our remit was to update the garden, adding interest through planting and structure, and creating a range of entertaining spaces including a new large lounging terrace with retractable pergola, outdoor kitchen, hot tub and raised formal pond with fountain. We also created a gravel garden to relax close to the house, a pergola walkway draped with scented wisteria, and a set of dramatic steps up to the lawn through vibrant naturalistic new perennial style planting.
As with most gardens designed with entertaining in mind, lighting was key to this scheme and we designed an adaptable and comprehensive lighting scheme which illuminates key parts of the garden gently to create atmosphere and make it accessible into the evening. An irrigation system was set up to water the trees and flowerbeds (we don’t recommend sprinklers for lawns as this is typically just a waste of water – lawns bounce back very quickly after rain). Chiltern Garden Design also sourced and supplied contemporary garden furniture and planters to complete the scheme.
These photos were taken just a few months after installation. We are looking forward to it maturing, with wisteria enclosing the gravel walkway in time.